Pages

Monday, January 30, 2017

This week we get
back to Una Mecanica Diferente for lovers of Concert Music, the new album by
Septeto Santiguero for lovers of traditional Son, the recent album by Roberto
Fonseca for Cuban Jazz lovers and some vintage Los Tainos and Orquesta Estrellas
Cubanas for dancing.

Solar activity was at mostly very low levels with low levels observed on 28 January due to an isolated C2 flare at 28/2109 UT from Region 2627 (N06, L=193, class/area Dai/110 on 22 January). An associated coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed off of the west limb in coronagraph imagery beginning at 28/2148 UTC but was determined not to have a geoeffective component. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels with high levels observed on 23-24, and 26-29 January. The largest flux value of the period was 2,495 pfu observed at 28/1800 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to active levels over the period. Solar wind parameters were indicative of background conditions to start the period. Midday on 26 January, wind speed began to increase as an isolated, positive polarity coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS) became geoeffective. Wind speed reached a maximum of 697 km/s at 27/0609 UTC and total field peaked at 16 nT at 26/2330 UTC before gradually decreasing throughout the remainder of the period. The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels on 23-24
January, quiet to unsettled levels on 25, 28-29 January, and quiet to active levels on 26-27 January.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 30 January - 25 February 2017

Solar activity is expected to be very low with a slight chance for C-class flares on 30 January - 04 February as Regions 2628 (N12, L=174, class/area Dso/220 on 23 January) and 2629 (N15, L=110, class/area Dao/220 on 25 January) rotate across the visible disk. Very low levels are expected from 05-11 February. Very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flares are expected on 12-25 February with the return of Region 2627.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels likely on 01-13, 16-18, and 22-25 February due to CH HSS influence.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 30 January - 07 February, and again on 14-18 and 22-25 February with G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels likely on 31 January, and 01 February due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

The Voice of America celebrates its 75th anniversary on February 1, 2017. In
honor of this momentous occasion, we are taking you on a journey around the
U.S. to showcase vibrant and exciting celebrations that take place in various
diaspora communities every year. From Persian New Year celebrations in Los
Angeles to the West Indian American Day Parade in New York City, to Carnival in
Puerto Rico, these celebrations highlight the multicultural diversity that
makes the United States what it is today. For example, did you know that the
Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. all started with a gift of cherry
trees from the mayor of Tokyo more than 100 years ago?

Voice of America’s audience growth has been exponential. In fact, our 2016
numbers were the highest to date. We now reach a record number of 236.6 million
people weekly around the globe through various platforms – television, radio,
and the web. Every year more people get their news and information from digital
platforms, so we placed a greater emphasis on social media this year, and our
numbers skyrocketed. VOA sites now enjoy nearly seven million hits weekly
from people around the world.

Last but not least, we need your help! If you are a DX blogger, or use social networks, please post an announcement on your own blog and/or Facebook or send out a tweet. You can also forward this message to a friend.

This should help increase our potential audience.

We hope to hear from a lot of shortwave listeners about our transmissions.
Best 73's
Marconi Radio International (MRI)

Friday, January 27, 2017

The ABC announced last month that it would stop broadcasting shortwave transmissions in to the Asia Pacific.

It helped our troops during World War II and spread impartial news in the Pacific region for decades, but Shepparton's shortwave broadcasting facility's future is uncertain.

The ABC announced last month that it would stop broadcasting shortwave transmissions in to the Asia Pacific, putting an end to more than 70 years of continuous shortwave transmissions.

Opening in 1944, the transmission site in north Shepparton was first used to spread morale-boosting broadcasts to troops in the Pacific and, after the war it was the grunt that helped push ABC's Radio Australia broadcast beyond our shores.

The final Radio Australia shortwave broadcast will go out on Tuesday, January 31, in a decision the ABC said was about moving away from the outdated technologies.

"Savings realised through decommissioning this service will be reinvested in a more robust FM transmitter network and an expanded content offering for the region that will include English and in-language audio content," an ABC spokesperson said.International listeners will still be able to listen to Radio Australia through a web stream. Just what the shutdown means for the broadcast towers beyond January 31 was still uncertain.

When asked by The News, the ABC said the towers were in the ownership of Broadcast Australia, which was part of BAI Communications. A spokesperson for BAI Communications said the future of the site was not decided yet.

"At this stage Broadcast Australia has made no plans in respect to retaining the infrastructure in place, and the decision to retain or decommission the redundant sites and equipment will be taken by Broadcast Australia in due course," the spokesperson said. If the site was decommissioned it would be a sad day for Australia, according to former transmitter operator Rodney Champness.

He worked at the facility for seven years and believed it was still a vital piece of national infrastructure that could not be replicated by web streaming. "In those countries we are aiming at they can get the internet, but it is expensive and for many people their wages are not high enough to afford it," Mr Champness said. "They don't have a lot of money and shortwave radio is cheap."

Shepparton was chosen in the 1940s for a few reasons, including the relatively flat terrain which was beneficial for broadcasts, and its location, away from inland cities and domestic flight routes.

"It's away from the coast so Japanese or German aircrafts could not easily get to it, and the building was blast proof for the bombs from that era," he said. If the site was decommissioned, it would be a sad day for Australia and especially for Shepparton, he said.

Last weekend, I had problems
with our Outlook contact lists, resulting in some of you receiving two emails,
and some VOA Radiogram listeners receiving no email. I’ve reconstructed the
mailing lists. If you have previously unsubscribed and are receiving this email
again, let me know, and I will delete you again.

DigiDX is taking a few weeks
off. VOA Radiogram will be heard during the DigiDX broadcast times on WRMI
Florida and IBC Italy. See the expanded schedule
below.

The expanded schedule is a good
way to celebrate the 200th program of VOA Radiogram this
weekend.

Here is the lineup for VOA
Radiogram, program 200, 28-29 January
2017, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

Twitter: @VOARadiogram
(especially active just before, during, and after
broadcasts)

PS: A few
operating notes:

For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's
squelch (SQL) off.

The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter
hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to
1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs
> RsID > unselect Searches passband. Your center audio frequency
will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.

Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as
png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be
different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with
your reception report.

The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is
especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a
Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and
refresh it occasionally.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Hola amigos radioaficionados all around the world.. I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro your host here at the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, the one and only radio hobby program covering almost all of the 91 different ways we can enjoy playing with our radios and accessories...

First news item... the Sun making a come back of sorts, after stalling for about 10 days at the beginning of 2017... Sunspots are back in sight and the daily 10.7 centimeters solar radiation flux has moved up to around 85 units... Correspondingly the next few days will see better propagation conditions on the short wave bands, especially between 10 a 21 megaHertz...

Item two.... good news coming from the European Broadcasting Union...
They are announcing a New dot radio Internet Domain The EBU is launching a new Top Level Domain (TLD) name -dot .radio - aimed at the radio community including Radio Amateurs. The launch is planned for September 2017 and the EBU says this which will progressively change the way people are reaching internet resources linked to radio.

These categories will be accepted for the use of a dot .radio domain:
• Radio Amateurs
• Radio broadcasting stations
• Unions of Broadcasters
• Internet radios
• Radio professionals (journalists, radio hosts, DJs, …)
• Radio-related companies selling radio goods and services
Item three: More and more radio amateurs around the world are learning standard electronic workshop procedures, like soldering , measuring circuit parameters, reading circuit diagrams , also learning how to visually identify electronic components, and all that new knowledge opens the way to start building the new generation of user friendly radio kits... Yes I am very pleased to say that several of the most recently advertised via Internet amateur radio transceivers kits intended to be assembled at home using simple hand tools and standard measuring equipment like the now classic digital multimeters have proven to be very reliable after proper assembly.

One recent example is the Bayou Jumper solid state QRP transmitter receiver rig, that was derived from the World War II Paraset rig used by paratroopers launched behind enemy lines and by freedom fighters in countries occupied by the Nazis to communicate vital information. The twenty first century version uses all solid state components for the regenerative detector receiver and the power transistors transmitters...

Limiting the coverage to a narrow segment of the 40 meters band has proven to be a very wise decision, because it has helped to create more activity on the 40 meters band segment between 7100 and 7125 kHz.. Of course that this little rig is a CW only transmitter... and it is able to receive also single side band voice signals as well as digital modes. Among the bright ideas brought forward by the radio club that is promoting this kit of parts we must include the use of coils that are part of the printed circuit board supplied with the kit of parts. Coil winding to exact specifications has proven to be a long time problem for home builders. The Bayou Jumper, spelled B A Y O U J U M P E R uses a single easy to wind toroid coil for the receiver...

The Bayou Jumper Transceiver was designed by two American radio amateurs Jim Giammanco N5 IB and David Cripe N M Zero S---- Here are now some
Specifications and Design Features of this very interesting amateur radio 40 meters band transmitter and receiver set General
N5IB: Original prototype development, receiver development, PCB and
panel layouts, part sourcing.
NMØS: Transmitter design, PCB, panel, parts sourcing, assembly manual.
RXTX Design: Separate receiver and transmitter, built in RIT..
T/R Switching: Hand switched with a chicken head knob, just as in the old days.
Single Bander: 40M as supplied.
Toroids: Only one toroid to wind in the receiver, and none in the transmitter. Only ONE for the whole rig!
NO SMT: All parts are through hole, there are NO surface mount
devices in the kit.
Current Requirements: Receiver 20ma, Transmitter 750ma

Here is more about how volunteer groups around the world are promoting the home assembly of ham radio equipment by designing rigs that can be successfully completed thanks to the use of high quality electronic components , extremely well designed and made printed circuit boards as well as excellent step by step instruction manuals.

The Bayou Jumper solves many of the problems found in previous attempts of making kits by addressing the most frequent failures of those projects, like for example the need to wind several toroidal ring inductances using very fine wires, a task that is quite a challenge for the older radio amateurs and also to younger less experienced home builders.

Now I am going to share with you the specifications of the performance achieved by the Bayou Jumper kit. Amazing as some them may seem to be, they were all fully verified with advanced electronic test instruments.
Receiver
Tuning and Regeneration: Grounded front panel, and insulated shafts
on the controls, so hand effect detuning is minimized.
Sensitivity: -120 dB (approx S1). Well below the typical rural band
noise level of approx. -100dB (approx. S4).
Tuning Range: Tuning range approximately 120 to 150 kHz.
One Knob tuning: No bandset/band spread needed.
Varactor Tuning: Varactor tuning employing readily available
Schottky diodes as varactor diodes.
RF Gain: Optional RF attenuator control, useful when employing
full-scale antennas.
Audio: Plenty of headphone audio, and will drive a small speaker.
Transmitter
NS-40: Integrated into the PCB is Dave's famous NS-40 Class E
transmitter.
More info here:
Crystal Controlled: The rig has a socket for the old-style FT243 crystals, plus 7030 and 7122 kHz crystals and included crystal adapters. If you have old 7MHz Novice crystals, you can use them with this rig!
Output Power: Solid 5 Watts.
No Toroids: No toroids to wind, all inductors are etched on the pc board.
Keying Options: Straight key built into the front panel, just like the original Paraset! Also includes a 1/8" jack so you can use it with your favorite mechanical key, or an electronic keyer with an interface, such as one of these.
Spotting: You can activate the crystal oscillator at low power to allow zero beating the receiver to the transmit frequency.
Final Amp: Cool running robust MOSFET.
Spectral Purity: All harmonics and spurious emissions are 50dB or more below the carrier.
Using a half wave 40 meters band dipole antenna fed via a one o one balun with 50 ohms coaxial cable, my 5 Watts output QRP transceiver provides good two way contacts under normal propagation conditions. My daytime coverage reaches all over the Cuban archipelago, and at night I can work all over the Americas, Europe, Western Africa. Under very good propagation conditions early pre sunrise propagation of 40 meters makes possible DX contacts with Japan, Australia, New Zealand and many Pacific Islands nations--- Now at the end of the show... a short form HF bands propagation update::. Conditions have improved and will continue to improve due a slight but noticeable increase in solar activity... see you all at the middle of the week edition of Dxers Unlimited next Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days just after the half hour newscast here
at Radio Havana Cuba.
(Arnie Coro/R Havana)

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Recent international monitoring of stations broadcasting on "out
of band" frequencies. Though this is not a complete list of all out of
band frequencies, it reflects a portion of what has been monitored.

Monday, January 23, 2017

SPECIAL EDITION: To
honor the first anniversary of the passing of Miguel Angel Rasalps "Lele", who
sang with Elio Reve, Los Van Van and the funky, rocking yet very Cuban Los Reyes
73, music from all three groups with special guest Ricardo Delgado, who played
saxophone with Los Reyes 73 in the 1970s.

Three options for listening on
shortwave:
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0100-0200 UTC (8pm-9pm EDT Mondays in the
Americas)
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays
1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)See
the NOTES section of our Facebook page for instructions for listening online if
you are out of range or don't have a shortwave radio.(Tilford Productions)

Radio Australia Transmitter, Shepparton

Shepparton News
By Gary Baker, former District Manager at Radio Australia, Shepparton January 21, 2017
Recently I heard that the HF radio transmission site at Shepparton, known as Radio Australia, is to be shut down. I believe this is mostly due to budget cuts to the ABC by the Federal Government. The ABC uses this site to broadcast services into Asia and the Pacific Islands. The site is owned by a private company, Broadcast Australia. The ABC pays Broadcast Australia to use the transmission site at Shepparton, but it does not own the facility.

I understand the ABC needs to cut back on some services it provides and make use of the latest technology. This makes sense except in the case of the Shepparton facility. The Shepparton transmission site has the capability to direct radio signals into specific countries as we see fit. This is unique to this site, as no other site can reach the countries this one can.

In my time as District Manager at the Shepparton site, I recall some instances where the Shepparton site was called upon to direct radio signals to specific targets. At one point the Fiji Government shut down the local Australian ABC transmitter.Shepparton sent radio into that country to keep Australians informed during that time. When there was a coup in the Solomon Islands, once again we sent signals into that country.

We also sent radio signals into Myanmar at the request of the Australian Government.Another task that the Shepparton site fulfils is to send signals into northern Australia in times of need, for example during Cyclone Larry when the Northern Territory radio service was beamed back to the tropical north from Shepparton. The Shepparton site is in a location that has good weather and is politically stable. This makes it an ideal tool for widespread information broadcasting.

The ABC would argue that this HF radio service is old technology and can be replaced by the internet or satellite services. This is true.

However, the ABC and the Federal Government do not control the internet or satellite services in other countries and therefore they are not reliable. HF radio broadcasting from a secure location is very reliable.

So why remove this service? Does the Federal Government understand the value of this international radio service?

I hope that in writing this letter, its value will become clear to those who have the power to make decisions. The Australian Government is in the position of being ‘hands off’ the ABC’s management of services, and I would agree for every service it provides except this one. Radio Australia Shepparton should be partly controlled by the Australian Government, not just the ABC.

I plead that this broadcasting site remains in service and continues to provide northern Australia and oversees services for Australians home and abroad. You could also argue that long-range radio lets the world know we are here, and gives Australians both in our home country and overseas vital information in times of need.(BDXC/Mike Terry post 23 Jan 2017)
photo via panoramio)

ClandestineAdditional broadcasts of Living Water Ministry Broadcasting1500-1600 on 9650*unknown probably PUG to NEAs Korean Tue/Wed/Thu, ex Wed# * co-ch same 9650 CON 050 kW / non-dir to WeAf French Radio Guinea Conakry # probably from Jan. 3 and from same date at new time 1500-1558, ex 1530-1630.